Paper Hearts
by Aerika-san
Summary: Lavi" was a persona, a mask to cast aside once the mission was complete.And the mission was to document the lives of those within the walls of the Black Order.“Lovers loose lips make” and Lavi wants to know everything. I HATE THIS FIC- GOING ON HIATUS
1. Prologue

_Yay, I'm back with my next serious multi-chapter fic. Had a bit of time to muck about with Misunderstandings, which was fun and all, but it didn't have my usual angst factor, and I missed it! So anyhoo, welcome to 'Paper Hearts', my first proper Laven fic. I've not really investigated this relationship to any depth before, since I'm a KandaxAllen (and AllenxKanda) girl at heart, but I was asked ages ago way, WAAAAAY back when to do a Laven fic, but at the time I was still up to my eyeballs in the ATW's. This was pushed on me when several people asked for more on the once shot 'Left in the Dark' and so this little bunny popped up. I'll try and stick with my Thursdays updates, but it may be a bit erratic while I get going._

_And to anyone who's not read anything by me before, I apologise if the big ranty author's note before you've even got to the story seems a little scary and off putting. It's how I am. If you carry on reading you're likely to learn an awful lot about me and my life as I use author's notes to rant about real life and its problems!_

_Please be kind enough to leave me a review, I enjoy reading them and will always reply to them at the start of the next chapter. I like to see names pop time and time again and hope to get to know my reviewers a little throughout the chapters._

_So now I've convinced you all I'm a crazy stalker- ON WITH THE STORY!_

_Paper Hearts_

_Warnings__: The usual… Yaoi- men who like men in ways that are not platonic. So if you don't like reading possibly very descriptive scenes of men touching other men in ways that are not platonic, don't read. Of course, you still could, but then it's your own fault if you either a) are offended b) become a yaoi addict or c) die of blood loss due to an unexpected nose bleed. In the end it's up to you. At the moment it's not an M rated fic, but that will quite possibly be subject to change._

_Also doesn't follow the canon exactly, cos I haven't got round the clock internet access to double check everything!_

_Pairings__: Laven, Lucky, teensy bit of Yullen and general Lenalee hate. YAY!_

_And of course, the obligatory disclaimer of doom__: Just like everyone else who spends their time writing these fanfictions, I do so with characters not of my own creation. I do own the storyline, and the odd OC who may or may not pop up._

_Summary__: 'Lavi' was a persona, a mask to cast aside once the mission was complete. And the mission was to document the lives of those within the walls of the Black Order. _"_Lovers loose lips make" and Lavi wants to know everything. But there's another side to this war with its own secrets to spill. __Can a bookman truly feel, or is his heart nothing but parchment and lies?_

* * *

Prologue

Two Years Ago

The red-haired teen rolled his eyes. Well, his eye anyway. He'd been listening to Bookman's lecture for the last hour and was now frankly quite bored. It seemed like the first ten minutes of whatever Bookman had to say had been put onto a permanent loop. Luckily he had been listening to a similar speech for years, and, no matter what persona he had become, he found that he was still able to perfect the ability to sleep with his eye open.

As one hour threatened to turn into two, he decided enough was enough and allowed the hand that had been supporting his chin to flop back onto the table with a dull thud.

Bookman paused mid sentence and turned kohl-rimmed eyes onto his apprentice. "Yes?" he questioned, sounding slightly annoyed.

The youth shrugged the motion casual and thoughtless, but of course, none of his actions were ever truly made without prior consideration. "We've been through all this before" he said rather coldly "I hardly see why you think this is relevant _now_"

Bookman glanced around, though he already knew that they were the only ones on the library right now, and a truly angered expression crossed his wizened face. "You'd do well to remember _why_ we are here" the old man said severely. "Contrary to what you seem to believe, we are _not_ here to slack off and have fun."

The apprentice bookman scowled, his face dark with suppressed anger. "You think I'm having _fun_? What part of any of this do you think I'm enjoying?"

Bookman considered him a moment longer before offering a curt nod. "Good. Make sure it stays that way."

The redheaded youth huffed sullenly and tossed a folder onto the table with a dark look. "That's the last of it. I'm rather glad, I don't think I can keep this charade up any longer. I'm really starting to hate the guy."

Bookman began his intense study of the notes in the folder. "Excellent work, as always."

The young man nodded stoically in acceptance of the compliment, and it was high praise indeed from the elder bookman. "May I leave now?" he asked calmly, getting to his feet. The old man nodded, still engrossed in the words on the paper before him. "Dismissed. Go and end it. Don't let him kill you."

"As if I'm that stupid" the redhead scoffed.

"No, you aren't, but Lavi might be."

The teen rolled his eye, settling the headband into his hair and straightening his scarf, a wide grin appearing on his previously blank face. "Don't worry Gramps," he said, the grin becoming cocky even as his inflectionless voice became lighter and filled with suppressed laughter. A wicked twinkle appeared in his eye as he winked at the old man. "I can handle anything he can dish out!"

Bookman watched his apprentice leave. Really, he was questioning the boy's actions unnecessarily- he always got the job done after all, followed the rules to the letter. He sat at the desk and began meticulously copying out his apprentice's notes into the ledger- the final piece of the only (and hardest to obtain) exorcist background left to complete. At last everything was written down and he nodded in a satisfied way and closed the pages of the folder with a sigh, looking down at his ledger thoughtfully. He berated himself for ever doubting his apprentice, even if he didn't agree with his methods. It always seemed to work anyway.

With a final satisfied nod he flipped back a few pages to the start of the entry and re-dipped his quill into the inkwell, writing the name of the exorcist in a neat flowing script before closing the pages and gathering his books together.

Now he could only wait for the next enigma to enter the order.

Yes its short, thats why, in my benevolence, I also give you chapter one! Cos I'm THAT nice. LOL.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Lavi still couldn't quite get used to the sight of the frail-looking skinny fifteen year old boy sitting opposite him filling his face with more food than Lavi ate in a week. He'd been watching this rather amazing, and disturbing, it had to be said, feat performed for well over a month now, and though he was well-versed in the intricacies of parasitic innocence, it was still a surprise to see such vast quantities of food disappear into that small body. And the boy hadn't changed one iota- not one pound or inch in all the time he'd been in the Order.

He curbed the faint twinge of disgust he felt watching the white-haired exorcist devouring the food mountain, eating his body weight in dango alone, berating himself for even _having _the feeling. 'Lavi' wouldn't be disgusted, he'd find the sight funny, so he went back to his own meal. He'd learned quickly that if he wanted any form of conversation with the boy he'd have to wait for the gorging to end first.

Finally the boy sat back, looking very satisfied as he patted his stomach and released a small belch. Immediately a small gloved hand flew to his mouth and he excused himself politely, looking rather embarrassed.

Lavi grinned at him over the table. "Better out than in, Moyashi-chan!"

A tiny flicker of annoyance crossed the younger teen's face, but it was gone almost instantly, hidden under a polite bland mask. Lavi had already seen such expressions cross the boy's face once or twice before and wondered about them. He'd already learned that for the past few years he'd been apprenticed to Cross, and apparently they hadn't been the best years of the boy's life, but he'd yet to inquire deeper into his past.

"Must you really call me that too? It's bad enough having Kanda use it without you doing so as well, Lavi! My name is Allen!"

'_I know what your name is, Allen Walker, but that's about all I know… yet'_ Lavi grinned and leaned over the table to ruffle the boy's unusual white hair, something else he had yet to ask about, knowing that the boy wasn't too keen on people invading his personal space, much less actually touching him. He'd have to find out about that too at some point… "But it's such a good nickname for a little bean-sprout like you!" he said, watching Allen try and flatten his now fluffed-up hair.

Allen just scowled… well no, he didn't. The expression had nothing on one of Kanda's, and Lavi was used to being on the receiving end of one of _those_, so the diminutive teen's little pouting attempt was nothing short of laughable. And laugh Lavi did, allowing tears to come to the corner of his eye.

"What's so funny?" a voice asked behind him, and Lavi knew that it could only be one person. Even if he hadn't recognised the voice, the look of puppyish devotion that appeared on Allen's face gave away the identity of one Lenalee Li.

"The Moyashi is" Lavi explained, wiping the tears from his eye with a grubby ink-stained thumb.

Allen flushed red with embarrassment and attempted to gather his scattered dignity. "I was just trying to get Lavi to use my name!" he protested, not quite understanding just what had been so funny.

Lenalee sat beside the white haired teen and patted his gloved hand where it rested on the table. Lavi nearly started laughing again when Allen flushed and nearly fainted at the contact.

"You don't have any hope now a nickname's stuck" she informed the embarrassed boy in what was obviously supposed to be a comforting way. "And let's face it, if _Kanda's_ had no luck, you've got _no_ chance."

As the two younger exorcists began to talk together, Lavi allowed his mind to wander freely while he kept half an ear on the conversation being held across the table. To the casual observer, he appeared to be in a world of his own, even while he continued to gather information. He contemplated the boy who was chatting to the female exorcist. Allen was obviously a gentleman at heart, since he looked like here was the last place he wanted to be, but made no move to break the conversation with the girl, replying politely and formally and looking like he was honestly interested in what she was saying. Lavi's observant mind, however, could pick up the tension in the youngest teen's body and how his right hand kept clenching and unclenching like he wanted to grasp the opposite limb.

Against his better judgement, he found he actually felt sorry for the little sprout, who was quite obviously chronically shy but too polite to run to the hills like he wanted to. Well, Lavi wanted to get to know him better- no me like the present to start getting friendly.

"Come on Moyashi-chan! I said I was going to show you that book once you'd finished eating."

Allen looked baffled for a moment before smiling apologetically at the girl beside him. "That's right! Sorry Lenalee" he said with a small bow as he got to his feet.

"Oh, ok, see you later then Allen, Lavi."

Allen looked a little guilty about the lie as they left the dining hall together, so Lavi slung an arm over the boy's shoulder, grinning inwardly at the flinch such an innocuous gesture earned him. "You looked like you needed saving back there."

"Thank you" his captive replied, and the grateful expression made Lavi feel the tiniest bit guilty himself.

After he had dropped Allen off at his room, Lavi headed to library, knowing full well that Bookman was going to be in there and would likely scold his apprentice as soon as he walked through the doors for shirking his duties. There were a number of books that he had been assigned to read that he hadn't touched, so perhaps the old man's annoyance wasn't completely unfounded, but that didn't make the prospect of a potentially long winded and boring lecture any easier to bare.

Lavi paused to contemplate his unusual attitude. True, the persona he was acting was supposed to be relaxed, laid back to the point of being horizontal, but never before had he carried on those character traits into his own thoughts… perhaps he had spent too long as 'Lavi'- these last few years were the longest he'd spent on one mission- the longest he's spent as one person in as long as he could remember, and he considered the possibility that the lines between the Bookman apprentice he should be and the exorcist that he was _pretending _to be had begun to blur.

He paused near the door to the library, looking out of the window at the sky, dotted with white wispy clouds as he thought back to the first time he'd laid eye on Allen, in the aftermath of the mission the white haired boy and Lenalee had been on in the rewinding town. Back to when Bookman had given him his own mission to complete.

_Bookman closed the door to Lenalee's room behind him silently. He'd done all he could for the girl at the moment, easing the discomfort in her nerves left by Rhode's attack. He decided to leave the girl alone in the company of her older brother for a while._

"_How is she?" a voice asked from the other end of the hallway. The old man turned to his apprentice, bushy eyebrows raised disapprovingly. They were alone- there was no need to show concern. "She'll be fine, in time" he replied blandly, though his censure was still made evident even in that innocent sentence. _

_Lavi nodded once, seeming to realise his mistake. Bookman also remained silent, walking further along the corridor to the next door. Lavi came up behind him, trying to see into the room as Bookman pushed the door open._

_The figure on the bed wasn't immediately discernable- short, slight and pale, wrapped in bandages, Allen Walker was still unconscious, apparently worn out by the mission._

"_Doesn't look like much, does he?" Lavi commented. "Kinda like one good hit would finish him off." _

_Bookman entered the room quietly, leaning over the sleeping exorcist and checking his various injuries. Lastly he pulled the pad from Allen's left eye, studying the wound thoughtfully. "His eye is already healing, though it may take several days for it to be completely back to normal."_

_Lavi looked over the old man's shoulder. "What's with his face?" he asked. It was a childish face- he'd been told the boy was fifteen, but if that was true, he was obviously a late developer. It looked like Allen Walker and puberty were barely even passing acquaintances. The only thing that spoilt the image was the scarlet mark that twisted down the left side of his face from the star shaped outline above his eyebrow and down his cheek. _

_Bookman didn't answer straight away, but continued to prod the injured eye with rough fingers, a frown twisting his brow. "A curse" he said at length, brushing aside the fringe of white hair to reveal more of the pentacle outlined in red on the boy's forehead. "Apparently the eye enables him to see the souls of Akuma." The old man pursed his lips in thought. "I must know the circumstances by which he came to carry this curse," and he looked meaningfully at Lavi when he said this, and the redhead nodded and grinned. "No problem gramps."_

_The pale figure on the bed made a small noise of distress, his forehead pinching into a frown before it smoothed away as Allen sighed and relaxed, his head turning to the side as he settled back down, the second sigh sounding like a name._

"_Hevlaska has prophesised this boy as the 'Destroyer of Time'." Bookman said, turning to face his apprentice. "We must keep a close eye on him." _

_Lavi stared down at the boy, focusing on the short spiky ponytail just visible at the back of his head as he thought. There was something… different, unique, about Allen Walker- he could see that already and he'd not even _met_ the guy properly yet. In his short life, Lavi had met, and _been_ many people, but never had he come across anybody quite like the person sleeping on the bed in front of him. For the first time since arriving at the Order, he realised that he was looking forward to discovering all about Allen Walker._

I'm a happy bunny at the moment cos I just took my 13 year old little sisters fanfiction virginity- now I have someone to share my squealing fangirlyness with someone at last! YAY!


	3. Chapter 2

YAY! LAVEN! AT LAST!

'Bert Is King'- present

'_Bert Is King'- flashback_

I finally got back onto the internet after a few days cut off from the world, only to find that DGM is now on hiatus_._ How is this fair?!

Finally, a long chapter!

* * *

Chapter Two

Lavi saw his quarry wandering aimlessly down a corridor up ahead of him and grinned wickedly. The other exorcist paused at a T-junction and looked around, and as Lavi watched the perplexed expression cross the younger boy's face his grin, if possible grew wider as he realised the apparent aimless meanderings of Allen Walker were actually the white-haired one's attempts at finding his way.

Lavi sneaked stealthily down the otherwise deserted corridor towards his unsuspecting prey, who appeared to be digging through his pockets in the hope of turning up a coin with which to flip. It was unlikely there would be anything remotely resembling cash in Allen's pockets- exorcists rarely had anything as material as _money_ on their person- usually a flash of the Rose Cross was enough to pay for anything they might need.

When he was finally close enough to the still oblivious (and still optimistically searching) boy, Lavi pounced.

"MOYASHI!" he yelled as he attached himself to the smaller teen's back. The first time he'd done this he'd expected (and half-hoped) his weight to be too much for the boy's slight frame to handle and that he'd be scraping flattened bean sprout up off the floor, but Allen had surprised him by not even flinching at the additional weight forced onto his back. That first time Lavi had brushed it off as a fluke- perhaps Allen had heard him coming and braced himself for impact, as it were, but each time (and he did it often, if only to _try_ and get the desired 'flat sprout' result he'd been hoping for) the reaction was the same, and frankly, it annoyed the redhead, who was sure it wasn't his failure at stealth that was at fault here. And eventually he became so frustrated (because even a Bookman could only take _so much_ mystery, and he wasn't even a full Bookman yet) and just flat out asked Allen about it.

0o0o0o0o0

"_Say Moyashi, why don't you collapse into a pile of mushed vegetable when I jump on you?"_

_Allen blinked at him like he was crazy. "You're not _that _heavy." Then he scowled accusingly. "And _I'm _not that _weak!_"_

_Lavi ginned winningly at the infuriated boy. Even a few weeks ago, Allen would never have raised his voice at another person, and this was the closest Lavi had ever seen the boy come to losing his rag._

"_And my name's Allen!" said person snapped almost as an afterthought. It amused Lavi that Allen still hadn't given up on correcting him, though the reaction was usually less violent nowadays._

"_Never said you were weak, Moyashi" Lavi said, still grinning like a loon and ignoring the angry pout (Allen's irate glare still left a lot to be desired, though he _was_ improving- overexposure to Kanda, Lavi mused) "but you are kinda small, and I am, of course, a spectacular specimen of masculinity" and he struck a pose. _

_An odd expression crossed Allen's face, as though he was in pain, and Lavi stopped flexing his arms and posturing to look at the boy in concern, since Allen was now bent double and shaking terribly. _

"_Are you alright?" Lavi asked, because of course, 'Lavi' would be worried by this odd behaviour. To be honest, he _was_ kind of worried anyway- Bookman would _slay_ him if his mission suddenly keeled over and had a fit or something._

_A noise he'd never heard from Allen before broke the tense silence that had followed his question and he frowned, laying a broad hand on the shorter teen's slim back. "Moyashi?"_

_Allen drew in a deep breath, then the noise continued and suddenly Lavi realised that Allen was _laughing_. Of course, he'd heard the other boy laugh before, but it had been polite, restrained, controlled, _fake_, not this breathless, hearty, altogether wild sound that shook his whole body, turned his face bright red and brought tears to those pale eyes. _

"_I…I…I'm s…s…so" deep breath "s…s…sorry Lavi" Allen wheezed as he tried to get himself under control and stand upright. He cleared his throat. "That was really rude of me, I didn't mean to laugh at you, it wasn't that funny" he apologised as soon as he was able, though underneath the mask of politeness and good manners, there was something almost feral dancing in Allen's eyes._

_Lavi's baffled expression melted away with understanding to an easy grin. "Are you kidding? I've never seen anything so funny in my life, and I watched Yuu-chan go through puberty!"_

_Allen was still flushed, his colouring an odd reversal of Lavi's, what with his pale hair and reddened skin. "It doesn't excuse my behaviour" Allen replied with a small bow, the consummate gentleman. "How can I make it up to you?"_

"_You don't ha-" here Lavi paused, a rather nefarious twinkle appearing in his single green eye. "Well there is one thing…"_

_Allen waited in silence, suddenly wishing he'd kept his mouth shut. Damn him for having manners!_

"_Strip for me."_

"_WHAT?!" Allen squeaked and backed away._

_Lavi batted his eyelashes. "Aw, Moyashi-chan is shy! I just want to see why you can stand so much weight." Yeah, great, he'll _never_ suspect anything suspicious with _that_ excuse. Though of course, this _was_ the amazing oblivious bean sprout he was talking to…_

_Allen wrapped his right hand around his left arm, biting his lip worriedly before sighing. "Alright, fine, but I'm not losing my shirt here."_

0o0o0o0o0

Lavi smirked to himself as he remembered Allen dragging him to his room and locking the door as though he was about to divulge to the redhead the secrets of the universe.

What he did reveal was almost as good in the apprentice Bookman's opinion.

0o0o0o0o0

_Allen shucked his shirt with nervous gestures, and might have crossed his arms protectively over his bare chest if the motion wouldn't have exposed more of his left arm._

_Lavi circled him predatorily, causing Allen to break out into an anxious sweat that made his pale skin glisten. Lavi licked his lips unconsciously as he walked around Allen's back. He could see why the boy was able to stand his weight anyway- who'd have thought that the simple white shirt hid all these muscles? The boy obviously worked out and took care of his body, he may have been small, but there was a lot of wiry strength packed into his slim frame. Well one mystery solved at least. Time to get to work on the rest._

_He half expected Allen to turn with him, to keep him in view, but by all appearances the white-haired boy had frozen, his eyes clenched tightly shut as though anticipating some form of attack. This worried Lavi slightly (damn, what was with him and all these _feelings?_ This wasn't right- he should feel nothing!), since Allen was obviously uncomfortable with the situation, but he couldn't let that interfere with his mission- he'd been charged with finding everything out about Allen Walker, and he fully intended on finding out _everything_. _

_He ran a rough calloused finger along Allen's shoulders, feeling the younger teen shudder and his breath catch in his throat, a half sob falling from his lips. As determined as Lavi was, even he didn't think he could continue if the boy started to cry, he wasn't _that_ unfeeling. Though he should have been- damn persona, confusing him!_

_But as he circled back to face his unwilling victim, he was surprised to find that he was not entirely unwilling, and suddenly, Lavi had no inclination to stop whatsoever. _

0o0o0o0o0

"Lavi!" Allen complained in a not-quite whine as he attempted to dislodge the taller male. "Get off me!"

"Nuh-uh, Moyashi-chan" Lavi said, burying his nose into Allen's soft hair "I like it up here."

Allen humphed disagreeably, but stopped wiggling, giving in easily, if not happily. "Since you're now attached to my back, can you _please_ tell me which way to the dining hall?"

Lavi laughed cheerfully, wrapping his arms around Allen's neck and legs around his slim waist, forcing the shorter exorcist to support his full weight before pointing down the left hand corridor. "Giddy up, Moyashi-chan, food waits for no sprout!"

0o0o0o0o0

_Lavi wasn't sure whether he should draw attention to Allen's blatant arousal. The boy was still flushed; though it was no longer a blush of embarrassment- it was softer than that, though it still burned with a ferocity beyond Allen's control. His lips were parted oh-so-slightly and as Lavi watched, a pink tongue skated out to moisten them. Lavi followed the motion raptly. He'd done this so many times in his life- seducing people came as easily and naturally to him as breathing, but as he raised his gaze from Allen's mouth to his heavy-lidded silver eyes, he distantly wondered just who was seducing whom._

_Allen's eyes flew wide open and he stared at Lavi with something like shock in his eyes, though beneath that was something darker, more base, and Lavi didn't have to be a Bookman to identify the expression as _want.

"_Err-" Allen licked his lips and swallowed convulsively, backing away and looking rather frightened and very, very mortified._

"_Wait!" Lavi said, reaching out and grabbing Allen by the wrist._

_Allen looked down his arm to where Lavi's hand clasped his arm. His left arm. He swallowed again, raising confused cloud-coloured eyes to Lavi's face._

_Inwardly Lavi smirked. He'd thought he'd have to work harder than this to seduce the young exorcist when he'd first seen Allen- polite, gentlemanly, hopelessly in love with Lenalee and probably as straight as a ruler. He mentally snorted- as straight as a protractor at least, if not wholly circular. Outwardly he fixed a small nervous smile on his face, insistently tugging Allen closer. "Don't go, please."_

_Allen allowed himself to be pulled to Lavi, stopping half a foot away and looking up at Lavi's face, clearly at a loss as to what to do- the options as he saw them all involved running away and hiding in a hole until this whole thing was forgotten, which he couldn't do with Lavi's ink-stained hand wrapped around his wrist. He jerked his arm experimentally- he knew he could escape if he wanted to, but breaking Lavi's arm would only add to his humiliation, and Lavi's grip was too strong for anything but a serious attempt at freedom._

_With his free hand, Lavi reached up and tucked an errant lock of hair behind Allen's ear, leaving his palm on the boy's pale cheek, not missing the flinch that the simple motion had earned, as though Allen expected to be struck. Well, that wouldn't do._

"_Please," the redhead murmured again, inching towards Allen to close the gap._

_Allen's breathing quickened and his pupils dilated as Lavi's hand slid up his arm before slipping behind his neck._

"_Lavi, wait, I-" but Allen got no further as Lavi closed those last few inches of space and covered Allen's mouth with his own before the dissent reached his lips._

_It was a gentle kiss, a soft caress of lips- Lavi didn't want to scare the boy off after all- so no one was more surprised than he was when the hands Allen had placed on his chest to push him away suddenly clenched in the black material of his shirt and yanked him closer and an insistent tongue probed at his lips and demanded entrance._

'_Damn' the thought slipped across his mind in the seconds before it was wiped clean of everything but the sensation of Allen's tongue against his own and slim, though distinctly male hips aligned with his, moving in a drugging rhythm that both aroused and frightened him in its intensity. 'The Moyashi can kiss…'_

0o0o0o0o0

"I thought you had a photographic memory!" Allen said in a faintly amused and wholly accusatory tone of voice.

"I do" said Lavi proudly from his perch on the smaller boy's back.

"Then why, pray tell," asked Allen, the epitome of politeness, "are we outside my room?"

"Well…" Lavi grinned, even though Allen couldn't see him. "I'm not hungry yet" he said and released his hold on his ride, his hands lingering longer than good manners dictated.

Allen turned to face him, one slim eyebrow raised slightly above the other.

"Want to help me work up an appetite?" Lavi asked with a downright suggestive grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Lavi…" Allen sighed. "You know…"

"Yeah yeah, I know, but that doesn't mean we can't still have a little fun…"

Allen smiled slightly with a despairing shake of his head and opened his bedroom door.

0o0o0o0o0

_Allen abruptly froze, making Lavi falter slightly as the tongue he was currently enjoying trying to swallow stopped moving in his mouth and the body pressed against his became rigid. He blinked open his eye (not entirely sure when he'd closed it in the first place) and looked down at the shocked and awkward expression on Allen's face._

_The younger exorcist blinked up at the redhead, his eyes almost crossing as he focused on Lavi's suddenly too-close face, suddenly unsure, and his hands, which had still been clenching bunches of Lavi's shirt, slackened their grip. Allen attempted to step backwards, but Lavi's own hands were still holding him in place._

_Lavi himself wasn't entirely sure what was going on- his brain seemed to be taking longer than usual to reboot, so he just stared in a lightly dopey manner as Allen began to chew on his bottom lip and renewed his attempt to escape. The redhead moved his constricting hand from the back of Allen's head, only to reattach it at his hip, allowing him more movement but stalling any further getaway plans. He leaned back a little to free his mouth to talk. "Something wrong?" he asked, his voice coming out a lot softer than he expected it to as he ducked his head to try and catch those grey eyes as Allen turned his head to the side, preferring to look at the distant wall instead of meeting Lavi's perturbed green gaze._

"_Sorry" Allen muttered after a short pause during which he seemed to be trying to pull himself together, though a couple of fragments slipped through his grasp. "I don't know what… I didn't mean to… I…" he swallowed tightly and shook his head. "Sorry" he whispered dejectedly. "Could you… go, please?" _

'_Shit, shit, shit' Lavi thought rapidly trying to think of something to convince Allen that what had just happened was not a mistake. 'Damn it, I took it too fast- if I let him go now I'll have lost my chance completely!' Only, this was Allen's room, and he'd just asked him to leave… but he was sure if he did, it would be years before the chance ever rose again, if it ever did. Allen was still avoiding looking at him, obviously appalled by his own actions- he'd just kissed one of his closest friends- the fact that it was Lavi was the one who had initiated the whole thing had obviously slipped the British boy's mind completely._

"_No, I can't" Lavi said quietly, grabbing hold of Allen's chin none too gently and forcing the other boy to raise his face and look at him. "Not until you tell me what the hell you're playing at."_

"_I said I'm sorry" whispered Allen, allowing his face to be redirected but not raising his eyes. "I know I shouldn't have done that."_

"_I'm not talking about the kiss dammit, I'm talking about _this_" and he gestured at the defensive stance the younger teen was employing, shoulders hunched and hands clenched into fists at his sides, as though he would have crossed them across his chest protectively if that wouldn't have put them into contact with Lavi._

"_I don't know what you mean" Allen said firmly, sounding less like the boy that Lavi had got to know in the last couple of months, and more like… well, himself._

"_I want to know what your problem is!" Lavi snapped. "Why are you trying to deny this happened? I don't regret it at all, and I want to know why you do!"_

_Allen's mouth dropped open slightly and he flushed red and mumbled something that not even Lavi's sharp hearing caught. _

"_Pardon?"_

"_I said I don't regret it" Allen repeated "but I still shouldn't have let it happen."_

_Lavi felt like throttling him. At this rate he was never going to get anywhere, and knew he'd need to change Allen's mind to fulfil his mission- if he let the boy go now he'd never be able to get close enough to try again. "Why? What's wrong?" he asked, adopting a gentle tone. He dreaded Allen's reply. If it was anything like 'it's wrong' he'd have a hard job convincing Allen otherwise._

"_I hardly know you. You're my friend, but we don't know all that much about each other" Allen began hesitantly. "I don't want to get in too deep at the moment" he finished apologetically, finally meeting Lavi's eye._

_Lavi felt like grinning like a fool and jumping up and down. Really, could this _get_ any easier? The boy was playing right into Lavi's trap without Lavi even realising he'd set one. Instead he smiled softly. "There's nothing wrong with that" he said, taking Allen's hands in his own. He noticed Allen's gaze falling to where Lavi's hand was gripping his own left one and he squeezed it gently, showing he realised just what he was holding and wasn't afraid or disgusted. When Allen's eyes rose back to his face he met the confused silver gaze, he raised the red-skinned left hand and brushed his lips across the knuckles. Allen swallowed tightly as he flushed deeply. "I'd like to get to know you" he smiled._

_Allen shook his head and tried to pull away, looking horribly troubled and eyes gleaming with regret. "I can't, Lavi…"_

_Ooh, this was getting interesting… there was obviously _something_ in Allen's past he didn't want getting out. "And you know that I can't either" he pointed out sensibly "but that shouldn't mean anything- this" and he shook Allen's hands still gripped in his meaningfully "this means something, and I'd like to find out exactly what it means."_

_Allen sighed and shook his head, looking back at Lavi with something akin to desperation in his eyes. Lavi's singular green eye widened in slight shock that he had trouble hiding. The mask was gone and Allen was looking at him, expression unguarded and open. "It'll only cause trouble for the both of us," he sighed, his voice no higher or lower, but still different, more sombre, more mature, "but I guess… I guess" another sigh "I'd like to get to know you more too."_

_The Bookman apprentice smirked widely in his head, congratulating himself on a job well done. "We can take this as slow as you want, I wont force you into anything you don't want to do."_

_Allen flushed deeply, absolute mortification at the ease with which Lavi had just said that making his face glow bright red, the scarlet of the scar almost becoming lost among the blush. "O… okay."_

_Lavi grinned cockily at the blatant embarrassment on the younger's face. "Firstly, I'd like to get to know your mouth a little better."_

_The blush didn't fade, but Allen's eyes twinkled with mirth as he allowed himself to be pulled closer. "I guess that'll do for now."_

0o0o0o0o0

Lavi laid his head on Allen's shoulder, snuggling in closer and trying to ignore the fact that the sense of accomplishment he was feeling was not completely attributable to the act he was putting on. Though they hadn't progressed beyond extensive make-out sessions and cautiously wandering hands over bare chests, any time he spent touching Allen's boy in any way was extremely gratifying.

Allen sighed above him, making his chest rise and fall deeply. Lavi played with one of Allen's shirt buttons with relaxed finger as he rubbed his cheek against the clothes shoulder of the slim body he was using as a pillow. "Hey, Moyashi?"

"Mmm?" The sleepy response came from above his head. Despite Allen's earlier hunger, he didn't seem to be in too much of a rush to move.

"I thought you liked Lenalee?"

Allen stiffened almost imperceptibly and he cleared his throat nervously. "I know I should… she's quite pretty and everything…"

Lavi supposed this was true, but he'd never allowed himself to look at the Chinese girl in that way- he had some sense of self –preservation after all. Not enough to make him stay away from Kanda, but enough to know hitting on the over protective supervisor's little sister was a bad move. "But?"

"I don't like her that way" Allen mumbled, obviously uncomfortable.

Lavi wondered whether this was true- he couldn't see that he'd got it so wrong- he was usually right on the money when it came to observing. Unless the object of his observation was as good at employing masks and disguises as he was… "Hmm?"

"I don't think I like any 'hers' that way" Allen clarified in a small voice.

Lavi knew his face was registering his shock, and was glad that Allen couldn't see it. Wow., he was really off the mark… just how good was this kid? This mission was just getting more and more interesting.

* * *

Protractors- you know, the semi-circular thingies used to measure angles? One straight side and one round one. :) My friend and I once became involved in a game of people watching at school where we tried to guess their… preferences… by labelling them either a ruler, a protractor or a roll of sticky tape. Not the most intelligent of games, but hey, I _was_ young and stupid once. Still am.

Please review. I haven't had much feedback for this so I need to know whether it's worth me updating. X


	4. Chapter 3

As was so helpfully pointed out by someone who shall remain nameless *glare at sister* I am no longer young and stupid. I'm just stupid. I resent that. Just because my general scowly-ness has produced premature lines on my forehead and my left knee creaks ominously when I sit in one position for too long, it does not make me OLD.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter, it made me more motivated to continue as I am not all that thrilled with this fic quite yet. Dammit, bring on the action!

* * *

Chapter Three

Lavi realised that he'd dozed off cuddling up to Allen only when he woke some time later to find that night had fallen.

Allen was still fast asleep, flat on his back and by all appearances dead to the world. The expression on his face was so different from the one he wore in his waking hours that Lavi paused to contemplate this riddle disguised as an exorcist.

Lavi was usually an expert at reading people, or so he liked to think, but this boy had made him doubt his own abilities, which was something he'd never done before. No Bookman worth his salt would ever allow himself to have misgivings regarding his mission. Maybe he was out of practice. It had certainly been years since any mission had challenged him in the way his current one did. Even Kanda hadn't been _that_ hard to figure out once you understood his reasoning. It had barely taken a few short months to learn everything about the Japanese exorcist, and by the end of the mission Lavi had been frankly bored to tears and eager to get things doe and dusted.

This time it was completely different.

Lavi caught himself about to brush aside Allen's hair in an unconscious, almost _tender _way. He scowled at his actions- sure, if Allen was awake, he wouldn't have hesitated, but the fact remained that he _wasn't_.

Lavi wrinkled his nose in consideration. Definitely out of practice. It shouldn't take too long to get back into the swing of things, he thought, still critically studying the sleeping exorcist's face.

It was still a delicate face, he decided- puberty was unquestionably overdue- but if it ever got a chance to alter Allen's features, something that wasn't all that likely, prophesy or not, given that the survival rates for exorcists were not that great, then the boy would end up _stunning._ The potential was there, in the still gentle slope of his jaw and the hidden angles of his cheekbones.

Though he was certainly not destined to be the most rugged of men by any stretch of the imagination, given the chance to mature, it was quite possible for Allen Walker to become one of the most beautiful creatures he'd ever laid eye on.

He hoped he'd have a chance to witness it, if only from a purely disinterested, observatory standpoint, he assured himself.

This was all getting out of hand.

It was his mission- get friendly with Allen- no, with Walker, he corrected himself, and convince himself to divulge all of his secrets to be recorded without getting found out, and, more importantly, not getting attached.

He'd not had a problem with this before.

He wondered if he'd been careless along the way and fallen for the mask that Allen presented to everyone else in the Order- cheerful, bright, polite and slightly naïve (very naïve in certain long-haired sword wielding exorcists opinion)- but Lavi had to admit that theory didn't sit well with him. It was more the side that Allen allowed him to see when they were alone that held his interest and made him forget that he had a job to do. The fact that in the short time that Allen had known him he'd some to trust the redhead enough to lower his guard around him made the Bookman apprentice feel rather smug and a little guilty. He denied that latter emotion ruthlessly.

Hmmm… Lavi's thoughts became entangled with each other as his sharp mind tried to work on the problems he presented to it. To wit: He was obviously failing at his mission and had no way of getting advice. If he even hinted to Bookman that he was getting a little too attached to his mission subject, well, he wouldn't have a mission to finish anymore. The old man would drag him away from the Order so fast he's get motion sickness. And he'd never be able to solve the problem that went by the name of Allen Walker.

Beside him Allen's stomach rumbled, and something that sounded like "Steak… dumplings… bacon" fell from parted lips. Lavi allowed himself an indulgent chuckle.

As long as he kept such incriminating thoughts to himself, he'd survive. They'd leave eventually, he'd make sure of it.

0o0o0o0o0

Allen woke a little later, blinking his eyes blearily and frowning sleepily as his vision remained white and unchanging. He lifted his hands to his face and his face crackled under his fingertips. He removed the sheet of paper that was lying across his eyes and flipped it over; revealing a short note written in a surprisingly neat flowing script, considering who it was from, and below the words, a detailed map.

_Dear Moyashi;_

_Glad you finally woke up! I tried to wake you before I left but you just called me 'dango' and tried to eat me. Figured you'd be hungry, so I drew you this map to the dining hall._

_Had to go and do some work for the Panda, but I'll see you later! Lavi. X._

Allen laughed a little, only to be interrupted by his protesting stomach and decided to put the map to good use immediately. Without bothering to straighten his sleep-rumpled appearance, he left his room, following the directions drawn onto the paper clutched in his hands.

He was so intent on the map that he wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to his surroundings and as a consequence, walked right into something that, according to Lavi's map, had no business being in that corridor at all.

Unfortunately for Allen, that something just happened to be a long haired, short-tempered samurai.

"What where you're going Moyashi!" Kanda snapped when he realised what had crashed into him. Not that he particularly felt it since Allen was not the sturdiest of battering rams. In fact, if it hadn't been for Allen's down-turned (and surprisingly hard) head that made contact first, Kanda didn't think he'd have noticed the incident at all.

With Lavi, Allen made a conscious decision to lower his shield and be more open, but when it came to Kanda, he found that he had _no _control over his temper whatsoever. "It's Allen, BaKanda. And I'm sorry, but I wasn't expecting you to be lurking in the middle of the corridor!" he returned, his expression part-sneer, part-scowl and completely ineffective. Kanda was obviously of the same opinion and raised an eyebrow mockingly. "If you weren't such a worthless brat who couldn't find their way ou-" here he paused as though he'd just seen the paper clasped in Allen's mismatched hands for the first time and his raised eyebrows immediately drew down into a frown.

Kanda knew full well who the note was from- he'd recognise that handwriting anywhere… he raised his dark eyes to Allen's slightly annoyed and increasingly confused expression.

"Kanda, is something wr-?"

Kanda snorted inelegantly. "Che." He made to move brusquely past Allen, who looked more baffled by the second. He only went five steps before his (rarely used) conscience raised its head and forced his to say something. He sighed and his shoulders slumped the barest of fractions before he straightened them again. "Just watch yourself Moyashi. If you carry on with this you'll only end up hurt." Though his tone was no different from usual, cold and dismissive, the words were oddly caring, and any retort Allen had been ready to respond with died on his lips. By the time he'd blinked himself from his stupor to question Kanda, the older exorcist was long gone.

Allen didn't see Kanda again that day, but his words were still fixed firmly in his mind. Just what had he been getting at? If it had been anyone but Kanda who said those words, he would have immediately dismissed them as a joke, but Kanda just didn't make jokes. Allen suspected that Kanda wouldn't know a joke if it dances naked in front of him wearing Komui's beret. But knowing that is wasn't a joke didn't get him any closer to knowing what it _was_ and therefore decided that the only thing for it was to ask the unpleasant exorcist's self-proclaimed best friend.

"Hey Lavi?"

The redheaded exorcist looked up at Allen's words and raised an eyebrow at the thoughtful look on the white haired boy's face.

"Have you noticed anything… strange… about Kanda lately?"

Lavi frowned. Something strange about Kanda? Well, he could think of several things., but he doubted any of the things he was thinking of were things that Allen Walker, king of oblivious had noticed, but having said that, what had Kanda done that Allen had observed but he hadn't?

Allen must have seen Lavi's expression because he wrinkled his nose. "Guess not then."

"What are you talking about?" Lavi asked, giving a wide grin. "Yuu-chan's always acting strange!"

Allen laughed, "Ok, a little stranger than normal then."

"No, why? What's he done?"

"Apart from actually having a conversation with me?" Allen asked with a perfectly straight face, as though he didn't find the fact that he'd spoken to Kanda without involving insults or innocence, though the amused shine in his eyes told a different story. He relayed the conversation he had had with Kanda earlier.

Although he didn't let it show on his face, inside Lavi was fuming. How dare Kanda say something like that? It was a good job that Allen _was _so oblivious, or the whole mission could've been over before he'd actually got anywhere.

He sneered mentally. He'd not thought that Kanda would be so spiteful and vindictive. Maybe he was more bitter than he let on. Eventually he came out of his musings and grinned at Allen. "I have no idea what he'd talking about, but maybe you should headbutt him more often if it makes him _talk_!"

0o0o0o0o0

_PERS: #49_

_SUB: Walker, A._

_ENT: #6_

_The mission is progressing as planned, if not better. The difficulties envisaged when earning the subject's confidence were not encountered. On the contrary, the subject did not seem opposed to 'Lavi's' advances._

_In order to maintain and expand upon the current level of trust, the relationship must be pursued at a slow rate._

_Previous subject, Kanda, Y. has attempted to warn current subject about the mission, but fortunately, the level of animosity between Kanda and Walker led to these claims being dismissed by the latter._

_Kanda has been advised not to pursue this matter._

The Bookman apprentice paused for a moment, reading over what he had written so far, smirking a little when he reached the last sentence, remembering the 'friendly chat' he'd had with Kanda less than an hour earlier.

"_What the fuck d'you think you're playing at?" the apprentice Bookman snapped as soon as he'd forced his way into the room he'd been very intimate with at one point._

_Kanda folded his arms over his chest and sneered. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about Junior, but get the fuck out of my room."_

_The redhead laughed harshly. "Oh, sure you don't _Yuu_" and he stressed the name like th foulest of insults. "Little Walker tells me everything, you know, I don't know how you didn't expect it to reach me eventually."_

_Kanda scowled. "I might hate the brat, but he doesn't deserve to be treated the way-" he broke off, flushing, angry with himself, but more so with the taller man standing in his room._

_The other teen laughed mockingly. "The way I treated you? Come on Kanda, of course I wont treat him the same as you!" he continued laughing, but it wasn't a happy sound, it was dark, derisive and anyone who had only seen Lavi would have ever thought that that face could wear such an expression. "Even you must have seen the kid's special. And he's nothing like you" the redhead said with a shake of his head and a sly smile, the room still ringing with his scornful laughter. "He's got some integrity- after all, it's been two weeks since I first kissed him and I _still_ haven't got into his pants yet." He snorted as Kanda's flush deepened with embarrassment and anger. _

"_All the more reason to warn him then! Before you go too far!"_

"_Now, now, ya see if you say it so bluntly, you'll just seem jealous, Yuu-chan" the slightly younger man grinned innocently and for a moment Lavi peeked through the impassive mask of Bookman Junior. The moment was gone as soon as it arrived. "I'm sure there are some things you'd rather not get out, hm?" The eye-patched teen took a threatening step towards the other. "Say one more word to the kid about this and I'll make sure you regret every last secret you ever made the mistake of telling me."_

The pen fell once more to the page, scribing a neat flowing script in black ink.

_Unlikely to encounter further problems from Kanda._

_On another note, subject Walker has shown no extraordinary prowess as an exorcist that would substantiate the prophesy. In the contrary, he appears reckless and impulsive, which borders on carelessness._

_I have observed a single minded desire to destroy Akuma, though he would call it 'saving' them. Perhaps this stems from the incident with his foster father._

_Allen has yet to reveal any other secrets pertaining to his past. No more on the matter has been discussed._

He frowned at the paper, hoping that Bookman wouldn't notice the slip up. If he changed 'Allen' to 'Walker' now, Bookman would undoubtedly realise that something was wrong.

He closed the ledger and sighed, resting his head against the table. He couldn't say for certain, but he doubted he'd be able to stay unbiased in the study of one Allen Walker much longer.

* * *

Actual plot and associated angst begins next chapter. YAY!


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